The Hobbit actor Andy Serkis, 48, on staying sane with the help of Skype, the joys of the school run — and why Gollum is never far away

I'm a shockingly bad sleeper. In bed very late. Awake at the crack of dawn.
I’ve been like it for years. But there’s no point in staying in bed past
6.30 because I’d feel I was being cheated. Cheated of time. Cheated of this
day.

The kids are often awake. Ruby is 14, Sonny’s 12 and Louis is 8, so I’ll
either hear the TV or the Xbox blaring away. I’ll usually go down and stick
the porridge on, listening to Radio 4. Ruby and Sonny are good at getting
themselves sorted and off to school, but either me or my wife, Lorraine,
will do the school run with Louis. I love it. I spend so much of my life
away that even the most mundane task is a joy.

Me and Lorraine did have a few arguments over the choice of the kids’ schools.
Private versus state and all